Courts and Crime

A 22-year-old Goodview man pleaded guilty Tuesday morning to involuntary manslaughter, in connection with a single-vehicle accident last year that killed a Bedford man.
Durham Westley Falabella, who is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 21, could face from one to 10 years in prison on the involuntary manslaughter conviction and 12 months in jail on a misdemeanor driving under the influence conviction.
Falabella entered the pleas in Bedford County Circuit Court; he was indicted on the charges in April.

The investigation remains ongoing into the officer-involved shooting in Bedford County July 30; the man who was killed has been identified.
At the request of the Bedford County Sheriff, the Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s “Police Shooting Investigative Team” out of the Salem Field Office is investigating the fatal shooting of the man by a Bedford County deputy sheriff.

Michael Anthony Smith pleaded guilty, last week, to charges stemming from the death of his 2-year-old son this past winter. The boy’s mother, Shana Witt, has been charged with smothering the boy with a stuffed toy.
According to Commonwealth’s Attorney Randy Krantz, an investigation indicated that the couple delayed calling emergency services for up to two hours while they got rid of evidence of a meth lab operating in the house.

Two men, charged with aggravated involuntary manslaughter in separate cases, have been indicted by the August grand jury in Bedford County.
Michael Wayne Jenkins, 27 of Bedford, was indicted for aggravated involuntary manslaughter, assault on medical personnel and felony hit and run.
Jenkins is charged with hitting a bicyclist on Va. 122, near Va. 24 on March 21 and then leaving the scene of the accident. Sean McQuaid, the bicyclist, died from his injuries the next day.

Kevin Colgan, charged with trying to hire a hit man to murder his wife, is still in jail where he has been since he was arrested on June 19.
According to Commonwealth’s Attorney Randy Krantz, Colgan was originally denied bail by Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court Judge Louis Harrison. He appealed that decision to Bedford County Circuit Court where Judge James Updike denied him bail last week.

A Bedford County Sheriff’s Office deputy shot and killed a suspect in a home invasion that occurred last Tuesday night, July 29.
At 8:03 p.m. Tuesday night, Bedford County 911 dispatchers received a call from 1554 Stewartsville Road, Moneta. The caller reported that she was home alone and was in the shower, when a male broke into her home.

At 8:03 p.m. Tuesday night, Bedford County 911 dispatchers received a call from 1554 Stewartsville Road, Moneta. The caller reported that she was home alone and was in the shower, when a male broke into her home. He grabbed her and pulled her out of the shower while holding a hand gun to her head. He demanded she give him her car keys. When she did not, he tried hot wire her vehicle. When his efforts to start the car failed he left the victims home riding what she described as a moped and traveled west on Stewartsville Road.

The father of a 2-year-old child who died in late February has been indicted for two counts of child abuse and neglect.
Michael Anthony Smith was indicted by a Bedford County grand jury this month on two counts of felony child abuse and neglect and one count of manufacturing methamphetamines. Smith is scheduled to appear in circuit court July 29 for a plea on the charges, according to court records.

The investigation is continuing into the discovery of two partially decomposed bodies found this weekend at an Evington home.

On Saturday July 19, at 1:30 p.m., a Bedford County Sheriff’s Office deputy responded to a home located at 2478 Tucker Terrace, Evington, after receiving a call from a neighbor, according to Major Ricky Gardner of the Bedford County Sheriff’s Office.
Ruby Laughon is listed as the owner of the property where the bodies were discovered.